Page 10 - phytotherapy_ EBOOK_2025

Most prebiotics are obtained by:

• Extraction from plants (e.g., chicory inulin).
• Enzymatic hydrolysis (e.g., oligofructose from inulin).
• Synthesis (e.g., fructooligosaccharides, galactooligosaccharides).

Unlike probiotics, most prebiotics are used as food ingredients in products like biscuits, cereals, and dairy.
Commonly known prebiotics include Oligofructose, Inulin, Galacto-oligosaccharides, Lactulose, and Breast
milk oligosaccharides.

The fermentation of oligofructose in the colon results in several physiological effects, including:

• Increasing the numbers of colonic Bifidobacteria.
• Increasing calcium absorption.
• Increasing fecal weight.
• Shortening gastrointestinal transit time.
• Possibly lowering blood lipid levels.

The increase in colonic bifidobacteria is assumed to benefit health by producing compounds that inhibit
pathogens, reducing blood ammonia levels, and producing vitamins and digestive enzymes.

Prebiotics are not absorbed in the small intestine but are fermented by the colon's microflora to produce short-
chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs are organic fatty acids (1-6 carbons) that arise from bacterial fermentation.
This increase in SCFAs lowers the pH, which:

• Indirectly influences the colonic microflora composition.
• Decreases the solubility of bile acids.
• Increases the absorption of minerals.
• Reduces ammonia absorption by converting diffusible NH3 into less diffusible NH4+.

What are Synbiotics?

Synbiotics are appropriate combinations of prebiotics and probiotics. A synbiotic product is designed to exert
both a prebiotic and a probiotic effect.

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